SALON

Wednesday, Jun 7, 2006 5:45 PM UTC

Young black women with breast cancer may have deadliest tumors of all

New research sheds light on why the disease kills more African-Americans than Caucasians.

By

Topics: Race, Broadsheet, Breast cancer, Health, Love and Sex,

My friend Tanya was special in many wonderful ways. And one terribly sad one: While breast cancer is less common among black women than white women, it did not spare her.

Actually, when breast cancer does strike African-American women, it is more likely to kill them, especially when they are under 50. (Tanya was 41.) And now researchers are beginning to figure out why. A study published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association has found that young black breast cancer sufferers are more likely than their white or older counterparts to develop a particularly deadly type of tumor. As the New York Times reports, “Among premenopausal black women with breast cancer, 39 percent had the more dangerous kind, called a ‘basal like’ subtype, compared with only 14 percent of older black women and 16 percent of non-black women of any age.” Many of the standard breast cancer treatments are powerless against this type of tumor.

While researchers now know that younger black women are more prone to “basal like” tumors, they still aren’t sure exactly why.

Of course, tumor type isn’t the only reason for the difference in fatality rates. Researchers also cite disparities in access to healthcare and nutrition as well as differences in environmental exposure. (Which to me, depending on how much context is offered, can sometimes sounds a tad unnuanced, even a little patronizing: It can imply, just slightly, that black women are helpless slackers, or that poor rural white women don’t live near toxic-waste dumps.) But “basal like” tumors do have a genetic component: Other research suggests that they’re the most common kind found in Africa and that they tend to run in families in Nigeria and Senegal. As one specialist told the Times, women of all races whose close relatives developed breast cancer at an early age should start screening for the disease before age 40.

We welcome this study, which was evidently the first of its kind to sort the subtypes of tumors by race. And we hope that it can help contribute to better survival rates. New information about these tumors should indeed help researchers pinpoint new ways to fight them. Trials, in fact, have already begun; new treatments could be available in as soon as a year.

Lynn Harris

Award-winning journalist Lynn Harris is author of the comic novel "Death by Chick Lit" and co-creator of BreakupGirl.net. She also writes for the New York Times, Glamour, and many others. More Lynn Harris.

Next Article

You Might Also Like

More Related Stories

Featured Slide Shows

Gripping photos: The people of the Turkey protests (slideshow)

close X
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11
  • The protests take on a festive element as police forces move out of the park and square. Wearing a gas mask, this young man dances to traditional Turkish music in front of Taksim Square’s Ataturk Monument.

  • In Gezi Park since March 31st, this protester, originally caught off-guard by the Government’s teargas and water cannons, went out and bought a Russian army mask from WWII, preparing for what was to come.

  • This rambunctious boy seems to be enjoying the chaos. After taking this picture he threw a stone at the already destroyed building in the background.

  • Forming a line, the police face off directly with protesters in Taksim Square. After a while, they retreated and there was a general cheer – a back-and-forth dance that has been common since the beginning of this protest.

  • An elderly woman in Gezi Park reads the news. The tent community occupying the park was violently destroyed on June 16th.

  • Many different groups had set up booths to promote their cause in Taksim Square and Gezi Park. Standing in front of one, this man waves his flag while posing with conviction.

  • Many home-remedies are used to minimize the effects of tear gas. This woman has put a milky solution on her face, removing her mask after the tear gas dissipated. Before sunrise, the police came again for another round of teargasing.

  • People capitalize on the uprising -- selling flags, beer, gas masks, sky lanterns and spray paint to name just a few of the popular items.

  • On Monday morning, June 11, the police execute a strong offensive. Many plain-clothed police officers, like the ones seen here, clash with protesters in the side streets away from the main stand-off in Taksim.

  • The authorities seem to be most aggressive in the night, pushing protesters away from the square and park. After being teargassed this young woman catches her breath with other protesters on Siraselviler Street.

  • Recent Slide Shows

  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11

Related Videos

More Related Stories

Comments

 6 Comments

Comment Preview

Your name will appear as username ( settings | log out )

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href=""> <b> <em> <strong> <i> <blockquote>

follow salon

Most Read

Popular on Reddit

links from salon.com

From Around the Web

Presented by Scribol
listener_new_rect The Listener: "We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves": Growing up primate

Recommendations